Monkeypox scare on Delta flight to Chicago

UPDATE...ASSOCIATED PRESSRED WING, Minn. — The son of a Minnesota woman says confusion about a rash she believes was caused by bed bugs prompted officials to keep passengers on her Chicago-bound flight for several hours while she was evaluated for a suspected case of monkeypox.

This photo from video provided by WLS-TV in Chicago shows fire and ambulance crews on the runway at Midway Airport after reports of a medical emergency that led to the quarantine of a Delta airplane Thursday. (CREDIT: WLS-TV, via AP)

Roger Sievers (SEE'-vers) tells the Star Tribune (http://bit.ly/IuOsdh ) that his mother, Lisa, is adopting two children from Uganda. He says while she was talking to mother by phone on a flight home Thursday, Lisa Sievers described a rash she suspected was caused by bed bugs.

Roger Sievers says his grandmother called a hospital to ask what treatment her daughter might need for sores contracted in Africa. Health officials wearing facemasks went to meet the plane when it landed.

EARLIER…ASSOCIATED PRESSCHICAGO— Authorities say passengers aboard a Delta Air Lines flight from Detroit were kept from disembarking in Chicago for about three hours after one person was suspected of carrying a disease.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the passenger was evaluated shortly after the plane landed Thursday afternoon at Midway International Airport. The CDC says emergency medical personnel determined the woman's rash was not related to monkeypox, which had been suspected.

In its statement, the CDC says the woman was cleared but advised to seek medical care.

The incident occurred on Delta flight 3163, which landed at about 3:45 p.m. Passengers were kept aboard the plane for about three hours before being allowed off.

Last modified: April 27, 2012
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be published without permissions. Links are encouraged.